Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Chemical plant and system operators
Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 57% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -5.2% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on ethical judgement and physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $78,120
- Job growth to 2035
- -5.2%
- Openings a year
- 1,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 16,700
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
- Coordinate with others to resolve problems
- Determine resource needs of projects or operations
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate industrial processing or production equipment
- Monitor equipment operation
- Test characteristics of materials or products
What the work looks like
- Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals to verify conformity of process conditions.
- Move control settings to make necessary adjustments on equipment units affecting speeds of chemical reactions, quality, or yields.
- Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met.
- Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings.
- Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as process automation systems (PAS) will allow operators to make decisions faster and be more responsive and cover multiple locations, increasing plant efficiency and limiting time where production is less than optimized.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Plant and system operators, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 82, +2.3%
- Stationary engineers and boiler operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 77, +3.1%
- Derrick operators, oil and gasHuman edge, steady, Index 87, +1.6%
- Butchers and meat cuttersHuman edge, steady, Index 66, +2.4%
Also known as: Chemical Operator, Plant Technician (Plant Tech), Process Operator, Process Technician (Process Tech), Chemical Plant Operations Technician (Chemical Plan Operations Tech), Chemical Plant Production Operator, Chemical Process Control Operator, Process Control Operator.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.